Burton Uxbridge elected not to enter following rule changes, but their personnel have been ‘redeployed’, with Charlotte Bardsley and Katie Holt representing Wensum and Mollie Patterson leading the Grantham College line-up.

Both teams have strong supporting casts, and the fact that Wensum can call on Megan Gidney (No 6 in the ratings) and Mari Baldwin (#20) to join Bardsley (#2) and Holt (#13) make them live contenders.

Backing up No 4 Patterson in the Grantham squad are two other top-20 players in Danielle Kelly (#10) and Sophie Barlow (#15), with Raquel Sao Pedro and Lydia John giving them even more depth.

Kingfisher boast Darcie Proud, Ruby Chan and Anaya Patel, respectively rated at 5, 9 and 19, while Cardiff City will be looking to take the trophy out of England with a line-up of Anna Hursey (#7), Beth Richards (#12) and Grace Clement (#18).

The only returning boys’ champion is Dylan Curry – the rest of the E-BATT line-up are no longer Juniors – and he has joined XLNT Draycott. It is a strong-looking line-up, with Naphat Boonyaprapa (#7), Peter Smallcombe (#10) and Reece Chamdal (#13) also on duty, and could well be in the mix for top spot.

However, there are several other teams which have realistic claims, including Fusion, who boast the No 3 and No 4 players in the ratings, in the shape of Joseph Hee and James Smith, backed up by No 18 Ben Hee.